Child of Darkness
by Zoebel
Summary: Old secrets will be uncovered when it comes time for Harry Potter to come to Hogwarts.


When Minerva McGonagall walked into his office Albus Dumbledore was having a good day. Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts this year. He had found a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor already. An important bill for the Light had passed in the Wizengamot the day before. Life was good.

"Ahh Minerva would like a lemon drop?" He said  
"Albus we have a problem." She replied, automatically ignoring his offer.  
"Minerva my dear, there is no such things as problems, only opportunities." The stoic professor barely refrained from rolling her eyes.  
"Well Albus you now have the opportunity to find Harry Potter, as the owl sent to deliver his letter brought it back."  
"Well that that is a bit of a puzzle." Albus sat back in his chair to think. "I'm sure it's just something to do with the wards. I set up some post owl repellent wards so Harry and his family wouldn't constantly bombarded with letters from well wishers and fans."

"You know what my dear, I think I'll hand deliver Harry his letter. It'll be good to see how he's doing. Would you like to join me in welcoming him into the magical world?"

* * *

Petunia Dursley had just started baking when there was a knock on her door. She let out a frustrated sigh. Having just found a new recipe for breakfast muffins she was loath to pause midway to deal with whoever was at the door. After quickly washing her hands she headed to the front door to see to her unexpected guests.

Opening the door she was momentarily taken aback by the garish colours worn by the man in front of her. Looking up at his face realisation set in. _Albus Dumbledore_. She was immediately glad that her husband was at work and her son at a friend's house. _This is going to be interesting_ she though with a sigh.  
"Well you'd best come in then." Petunia told the two people standing on her doorstep, opening the door wider to allow them access. This conversation was well overdue and it was best to keep it out of sight from nosy neighbours. As she lead them to the lounge she offered them refreshments. It was only polite after all. Fortunately her guests declined. Taking a seat across from the witch and wizard she waited for one of them to start.

"Well Petunia, it's good to finally meet you after all these years. My name is Albus Dumbledore and this is my colleague Minerva McGonagall." Petunia reluctantly shook the hands of the two in front of her. "We would rather like to see Harry if he's around. You see I have his Hogwarts letter with me and I'm sure he'll be excited to finally get it." _Thank goodness_, straight and to the point. The sooner this was over with the better.  
"I'm afraid not. You see Harry doesn't live here." She took a deep breath, "Harry was only here for about a week after he was left on the doorstep. I decided it was for the best for him to live elsewhere."

The blank look of pure shock on the two faces in front of her was rather amusing. It really was hard to keep a straight face when one of the most powerful wizards of modern times was sitting there, jaw wide open, with a dumbfounded expression plastered across his face. The prim witch next to him had managed to keep herself rather more composed. Widening of her eyes being the only real tell of the churning thoughts going through her head. Surprisingly enough Dumbledore managed to compose himself first, snapping his jaw shut. The shock seemed to be wearing off to be replaced with righteous indignation. Bracing herself, Petunia waited for the accompanying outburst.  
"What do you mean you sent him somewhere else?" Dumbledore's voice was ice cold, "I brought him here to be safe-"  
"Ha," Petunia interrupted. "What a brilliant idea, leave a one year old on a doorstep in November with only a thin blanket for protection. You were lucky he didn't catch his death, or God forbid manage to wonder off." She was unimpressed and she let him know it.

"Still, why on earth did you send the boy away?" This came from McGonagall, the first the witch had spoken.  
"There is absolutely no way I was going to raise that child." Petunia told them. A child that powerful? If something went wrong it would be disastrous.  
"I understand that you and Lily didn't always get along." Each word was carefully measured and deliberately said, "however I thought that you would put that all aside to care for her son."  
"Oh I care for her son. This has nothing to do with who the boy is, and everything to do with what he is."  
"What is the problem with raising a wizard?" This was McGonagall again.  
Petunia snorted, "this nothing to do with him being a wizard."  
"Then why did you abandon the boy?"  
"Lily was always very good at keeping secrets," was Petunia's reply. "If she chose not to tell them to you I have no reason to. Anyway I did not abandon the boy. I sent him to live with my grandfather."

Ready to finish the conversation and be rid of her unwanted guests Petunia stood up. "I think it's time for you to leave. I will pass the letter on to Harry, but there are no guarantees the boy will want to attend. Or that his guardians will allow him to"  
"But you are his legal guardian-"  
"No I am not. I signed away all of my rights to the boy when I left him with my grandfather. I do believe he was legally adopted by my uncle and his wife when he was three." Seeing Dumbledore about to object she continued, "the paperwork was filed in your world as well."  
"I find it hard to believe given this is the first I'm hearing of it," he was not pleased. Petunia didn't care.  
"You are not part of my family, you're not of my blood, so how does this concern you? The only connection you have to my nephew is as a potential headmaster. You have no say in his life. You left him with me and I did what was best for the boy." The look of righteous indignation was back.  
"I have always been a friend of the Potter family. Lily and James trusted me-" the temperature suddenly dropped.  
"Everything has a price. And look what it cost them. Dead leaving their son behind an orphan." Her voice was colder than ice, making both of her unwanted visitors flinch. "Now it is time for you to leave."

Rising her visitors shared a look, this is not what they had been expecting at all.  
"Please do pass on the letter to Harry," unexpectedly this came from McGonagall. Petunia had been expecting Dumbledore to make some sort of demand. "He deserves a chance to be a part of his heritage."  
"I will do it in Lily's memory, she would have wanted him to have the choice. I make no promises. The boy is happy where he is." She ushered them out.  
"I left him here for your protection as well, I explained everything in the letter." Dumbledore could not refrain from one last parting comment.  
"Who said I need protection?" She dropped the shield hiding her power. She smirked at the two taken aback expressions before shutting the door in their faces. Humming she activated an opal shield around the house, before returning to her baking.


End file.
